Guide to Hydroponics
Flower Power Hydroponics and the Botanists who work there are important people on the station, especially in longer rounds. Botanists grow plants, obviously. Without plants, the Chef cannot make many types of food. Without those types of food, the denizens of the station will either have to live off of beef jerky and space twinkies, or starve to death. Now that you understand why this is important, let's get started! Plants Here is a chart with the types of plants you can grow, in case you forgot. Growing The Afforementioned Plants First, locate the hydroponics trays, sometimes referred to as "planting pots". this is where you will be planting the seeds. Take a seed in your hand, and click the pot. You will then get a message saying "you plant the seed in the pot.", or something along those lines. You can only plant one seed per pot. If you click the pot with an empty hand, you will get a basic analysis of the plant, and the nutrient and water level of the pot. Here is an example: This pot has plant planted. Water: 75/100 Nutrients: 8/10 This is an easy way to identify the plant, if you are not familiar with what they look like. It is also a good way to check on new species that have found their way into the "farm". If this happens, you will get a red message that says soemthing like "hydroponics tray has been overtaken by plant!". This can be good, bad, or a combination of both. Best case: a few Liberty Cap spores lodge themselves in the tray, and you get super duper high. Worst case: generic weeds. These grow very fast and serve no purpose as of now. All they do is take up space (get it? cause you're growing stuff on a space station?). An example of a useful weed (not the smokable kind), is the humble nettle. Nettles are a very useful plant, and a powerful weapon if grown properly. If you play the Botanist and get picked to be a Traitor, then do not fret. Just wait for some nettles to show up in your garden and kill those targets with FLOWER POWER! nettles are poisonous to begin with, but with skillful harvesting and increases of the Potency level, the nettles can deal a lot of damage, and have a very high knockout chance. Caring for your Vegetable Friends Mushrooms: Just feed these fertilizer, don't need to water them. Weeds: Just water them, they don't need plant food. Nettles are considered weeds. Everything else: Feed them water AND Fertilizer. The hydroponics tray will warn you of any issues with your plants with colored lights. *'Green Light:' Ready for harvest *'Blue Light:' Low water *'Yellow Light:' Low nutrients *'Red Light:' Low health *'Red/Blue Flashing Light:' Alert: Weeds/Pests/Toxins To fix the water problem, take your bucket, fill it with water at one of the water tanks inside the farm, and pour the appropriate amount of water onto the plant. If a pot is full of water, you will not be able to add any more and the excess will splash onto the floor. To fix the nutrients, replace the solution using the nutrient dispenser, then taking the vial and clicking on the tray. Only do this if the tray needs nutrients. One should avoid replacing the solution while there is still plenty left. Excess fertilizer disappears forever, and the dispenser has a finite supply. Weeds can be removed by clicking on the tray while holding a mini-hoe in your hand. Keep clicking until you see the message "This plot is completely devoid of weeds. It doesn't need uprooting.". If a plant is dead, a single click will empty it from the tray. If your tray decides to sprout some annoying harebell or unwanted crops, a few sprays with the Plant-Be-Gone will kill it, albeit rather slowly. Hacking at a plant with a Hatchet will gradually kill it, allowing you to remove the plant from the tray and replant. Chemicals, Wonderful Chemicals Certain chemicals do special effects on plants and mushrooms. Either it kills, heals, feeds, or mutates the plant. Go Forth and Procreate This section is about making new plants from existing ones. Remember, the seed dispenser will run dry very early into the round. And if you ask the QM for a seed crate, he will most likely laugh in your face and kick you in the dick for being stupid. So to make more seeds, you will need the help of Mr. Seed Extractor. This little box (located next to the NutriMax) is your best friend in long rounds. To extract seeds from a plant, pick up a plant product (Fruit, Vegetables, Shrooms, etc.). Then, click the seed extractor. You will then get 1-4 bags of seeds or mycellium from the product. Then, dump out the contents of one of those shiny hydroponics crates you have, and put the extra seeds inside. This will keep them neat and organized. If you don't want to waste one of your pretty green boxes, steal a crate from the Cargo Bay, or those pointless rooms right next to the mining dock. If a new species sprouts in your farm, keep it alive so you can make seeds from it and grow more. Soil Soil is an alternative to trays. Get some sand, use it to make sandstone, then take three sandstones to make soil. Sand can be dug by Shaft Miners on the Asteroids, alternatively you can grow grass in your existing hydroponics trays, then plant the grass tiles and dig them up with the spade (found in the back room), this will dig up some sand. Congratulations, you are no longer restricted to trays for growing now. Be warned though, it is not the most efficient method of planting, as there are no lights to indicate needs for water, fertilizer, etc. Removing soil is done with a shovel or spade. Analyzing the Analysis Upon selecting the Botanist, you will find that your apron contains a handy-dandy Plant Analyzer. You use this to get a highly detailed analysis of the targeted plant. The readout looks like this: The analyzer also shows you the status of the pot. Weeds and pests can be remedied by hoeing or a few squirts of Pest Spray. Toxicity is important for shrooms, because it tells you how deadly it is. The water and nutrition levels are self-explanatory. Hydroponics, Guide to